Bush remains defiant on climate change deal

World leaders ended their protest-scarred G8 summit in Genoa today, conceding that they were unable to resolve sharp differences between the United States and the rest of the nations over global warming.

A draft of their final statement said all of the Group of Eight countries ‘‘firmly agree’’ on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but ‘‘there is currently disagreement on the Kyoto Protocol and its ratification’’.

Earlier this year, US President George W Bush surprised other nations when he announced that the Kyoto protocol was ‘‘fatally flawed’’ and would not be implemented.

There was intensive behind-the-scenes lobbying during the summit over the global warming issue, led on the European side by French President Jacques Chirac, who urged Canada and Japan not to give in to American pressure to abandon the treaty.

But the US side was just as adamant that the current accord, reached in negotiations in the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto in 1997, would harm the US economy.

The Americans said it would force industries to cut back too severely on their emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases suspected of causing a gradual warming of the earth’s atmosphere.

In the end, the summit countries essentially agreed to disagree.

The United States said it would present an alternative American plan before a September United Nations conference on the issue.

The other nations have insisted they would push forward with the Kyoto treaty.

Seeking to put the best face on the rift, the draft statement said ‘‘our efforts must ultimately result in an outcome that protects the environment and ensures economic growth compatible with our shared objective of sustainable development for present and future generations’’.

The leaders of this summit of the world’s seven richest industrialised nations and Russia did manage to achieve unanimity in endorsing the launch of an ‘‘ambitious’’ new round of global trade talks.

There was no hint they had made progress in resolving what should be included in new negotiations.

Europe objects to opening its highly protected agriculture sector to foreign competition.

The United States has been fighting to maintain US trade laws that provide protection to the steel industry and other sectors threatened by cheaper foreign imports.

The summit leaders did try to reach out and get developing nations interested in launching a new round, promising to do more to open up their markets to their products.

The issue will be tackled at a World Trade Organisation meeting in Qatar in November.

They also agreed to intensify efforts to promote food safety - a major issue in Europe after disputes with the United States over genetically modified food and the spread of mad cow disease.

‘‘We recognize our responsibility to provide consumers with relevant information on the safety of food products based on independent scientific advice, sound risk analysis and the latest research developments,’’ the leaders said.

The statement also reflected the emphasis the leaders put to their 1.3 billion dollars commitment to a new global fund to fight Aids and other infectious diseases in developing countries.

‘‘An effective response to HIV/Aids and other diseases will require society-wide action beyond the health sector,’’ the leaders said.

To that end, they endorsed moves by drug manufacturers to make medicines more affordable through flexibility in patent protection.

The leaders made indirect reference to the violent protests here, which on Friday resulted in the first death in anti-globalisation protests since massive demonstrations became a staple of international economic gatherings after the WTO meeting in Seattle in December 1999.

‘‘We are determined to make globalisation work for all our citizens, especially the world’s poor,’’ the leaders said, saying they believed in the ‘‘fundamental importance of open public debate’’.

The leaders also endorsed universal primary education by 2015, and pledged resources for training teachers. They also said they would look for ways to broaden debt relief.

The statement did not address Bush’s plan to build a national missile defence system, a contentious issue that has divided the allies and has sparked tensions between the United States and Russia, which says it would violate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

The issue was on the agenda for the Sunday afternoon meeting between Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The summit produced broad agreement on major foreign policy issues including the Middle East, the Korean peninsula and Macedonia. The leaders earlier endorsed a proposal for monitors to oversee a cease-fire between the Israelis and Palestinians and urged both sides to accept the idea.

They also called on the Macedonian government and Balkan country’s ethnic Albanian minority to reach agreement on constitutional changes to protect both communities.

Dominating the summit were images of Italian riot police firing tear gas and wielding clubs against some of the tens of thousands of people who flooded the Mediterranean port to express their opposition to policies they say harm to poor.

During the summit’s first two days, more than 430 were injured in violent clashes between police and protesters. Tensions mounted after police fatally shot a young protester on Friday, the first day of the summit.

Secure behind miles of fences and protected by 20,000 police, the leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany, France and Russia expressed frustration during the meeting over their failure to focus attention on the issues they came to discuss.

‘‘Those who claim to represent the voices of the poor aren’t doing so,’’ Bush said Saturday. The French president said all the leaders ‘‘have all been traumatised by the events’’.